ATLANTA - Fundraising organizers are counting heavily on the HME industry's support in two separate events on Tuesday, Oct. 25. AAHomecare's "Stand Up for Homecare" and MK Battery's "Power For Funding" both aim to get Medtrade attendees to open their wallets for their individual causes.

NCART, NRRTS and AAHomecare each received checks for $24,356 from MK Battery at Medtrade in November. "They've always been a great company and backed us up," said John Zona, president of NRRTS. "They've gone above and beyond now." For a six-month period earlier this year, MK Battery set aside $1 for every gel battery it sold, raising $73,068. "We just thought about, in a management meeting one day, 'How can we help the industry in this chaotic time?'" said David Brunelle, vice president of sales for MK Battery. The associations will use the money to, among other things, help fuel efforts to create a separate benefit for complex rehab.